


Rookies and Royals

by ShouJingshen



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: :), Anne needs to learn how to work with a team, Bankruptcy and shame, Chaotic Jane, HENRY GETS WHAT HE DESERVES, Happy Ending, Jane and Cathy are good at tactics, Momagon, No beta we die like Boleyn, Soft Catherine, based off of the King’s Avatar, esports au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:29:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26381179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShouJingshen/pseuds/ShouJingshen
Summary: Esports Au!Catalina is a pro player at the game ‘Glory’. Her team’s well known and respected by many. And yet, everything goes downhill after one fateful day...
Relationships: All Queens & All Queens
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

Catalina’s hands danced across the keyboard, making a rhythmic clacking sound. It soothed her in a way, the steady beat, it helped her think. Helped her ignore the constant trash talk that was spewing from the rookie’s mouth. She spotted an imperfection in her companion’s moves, silently dodging and slapping a talisman on the other’s back. The corner of Catalina’s mouth quirked upwards as she saw the victory symbol on her screen. ‘Glory’ it stated proudly. She would never get tired of seeing that.

Catalina slid her headphones off, only to realise that the rookie was still ranting. She sighed, clapping her hand on the rookie’s shoulder and leaning over.  
“Let’s review your play, shall we, Anne?” -Anne sighed dramatically- “You did better than last time, you managed to keep up the pressure most of the time.” -Catalina paused- “However, your attacks are too wide. It may look flashy, but it’s inconvenient. It leaves the opponent room to dodge under your broom and attack you from behind, as I demonstrated.”

Anne interrupted, scowling, “I just don’t understand why I keep on losing!” Anne hit the table with her hands, “I mean, you’re older than me, you should be slower! And you’re playing a support class! Who even plays exorcist anyway?” Anne’s voice gained volume as she continued ranting. Catalina placed a hand on her back, making her pause and look down at the older woman.  
“Hey, it’s okay to lose, it’s all about the experience. I wasn’t expecting you to win against me, since I’ve been playing for longer. But one day, you will defeat me, and you will have worked for it.” Catalina chuckled as Anne looked at her with confidence in her eyes. Anne did a mock salute before going to challenge one of the other rookies.

“You’ve really taken a shine to that little witch haven’t you?”  
Catalina startled at the voice behind her, before recognising it as Jane from the teasing lilt.  
“You know I have. She could be a great player once she gets her arrogance and anger in check.” -Catalina paused as she considered what Jane had said- “And Jane? Please stop referring to the rookies by their characters’ classes, they have names.”  
Jane chuckled, “You know I can’t remember them all! And besides, I thought I was your little rookie?”  
Catalina looked back at Jane, ruffling her hair, “You’ll always be my little rookie, you know that!”  
Jane gave one last smile before her face became solemn, “I didn’t come down here just to chat, unfortunately. Henry wants to see you. Something about roster changes? I don’t know, I only listened for long enough to know that he wants you to get up there, ‘even if it takes 10 people to drag her off that damned computer’. His words, not mine”  
Catalina smirked at Jane, putting her hand over her heart “Alas, my own best friend is the bearer of bad news, I am wounded!”-she let her hand drop- “I’ll be going then, just remember to stop the rookies from breaking any more keyboards, we’ve already used up half of our budget for this year.”  
“Aye Aye, Cap’n!” Jane turned to the rookies as soon as Catalina left, “Now, who the hell’s been breaking all the keyboards? I want in.”

Catalina stepped into Henry’s office, noting the dark mood that seemed to hang around it. Most of the lights were off, which was strange. She entered the room to see Henry pinching the bridge of his nose, leaning over some paperwork.  
“Catherine? We need to talk.”


	2. Chapter 2

Catalina’s breath caught. Meetings that started like this never went well. It was like trying to sneak past a lion. One wrong move and you would get ripped to shreds. She subconsciously stood up straighter, Henry never did like it when she slouched. “What do we need to talk about, Henry?” His head snapped up at the use of his first name, “Mr. Tudor, sorry.” Catalina spoke slowly, considering every word as she watched Henry’s movements, sizing him up. Deciding whether he was being prey or predator.  
“What is your opinion on the rookie? What’s her name...” he gestured with his pen, “Anne! Yes, Anne. What’s your opinion on her? Is she ready to join the team yet?”  
Catalina sighed, resisting the urge to look down at her feet, “No. She’s close, I’ll admit, but she needs to work more on working with a team. She needs to realise that it’s not like scrap-picking.”  
“Do you think Anne would be ready to lead soon?”  
Catalina faltered. It felt like everything around her had frozen. She wanted to scream, to shout. ‘You can’t replace me like this! After all I’ve done?’ But she didn’t. She had to keep calm and level-headed, otherwise he would go for the throat. “I don’t believe so, no, sir. Besides, I already have a successor, do I not?”  
“Jane?” Henry scoffed, “You must be blind if you think that she would be a good captain! She doesn’t even the looks for sponsoring! She’s just, well, plain!”  
Oh. “So that’s what this is all about? You just want a pretty face for sponsors? For shame, Mr. Tudor.”-She realised that she was almost shouting. She lowered her voice, looking him straight in the eyes, “I remember when you actually cared about this game, about victory. What happened?”  
Henry pinched the bridge of his nose again. The predator was getting tired of her games. “The industry’s changed, Catherine. Doing sponsors is part of the captain’s job now.”  
“It’s not in the contract, it’s not in the job description that I have to do sponsors. I just don’t see the point in having my face plastered on random product-“ Catalina was interrupted by Henry hitting the table with his hands. “It’s for the money, Catherine! God knows we need it to keep getting these no-talent rookies!” He roared.  
“I’ve given this team two championships, given us glory! Is that not enough?”  
Henry glares at her, “I can get rid of you whenever I want. Just you wait.”  
They stare each other down for a few seconds more, until Catalina relents. “I’ll be going then. I have duties to get to that are actually in the contract.” Catalina walks off before Henry can say another word.

“How bad was it?” Jane asked as soon as Catalina was in the room.  
Catalina sat down, slumping over. She groaned, running her hands through her hair, “About as well as I expected. Henry wants to not only get Anne on the team, but make her captain. Just for her looks. He doesn’t care about this team anymore Jane, he only cares about the money.”  
Jane looked down at her feet, “Maybe... Maybe he still cares about it, deep down.”  
Catalina laughs bitterly, “If that man were the Marinara Trench, whatever love he has for the team is all the way at the bottom”  
Jane pauses for a second before letting out real laughter, “Did you just say Marinara Trench?”  
“No..” Catalina mumbled.  
“Yes you did, I heard you!”  
“At least I was close! You pronounce bourgeoisie as baguette sea!”  
“I still stand by the fact that the birds work for the baguette sea!”  
“You just did it again!”  
They bathed in the afterglow of their laughter, letting go of their tension for today.  
“Do you want to go out for ice cream?” Jane asked.  
“But it’s the middle of winter!”  
“It means it’ll stay cold longer!”  
“I- Fine, but remember to put on some layers. We don’t want you to have a cold, do we?”  
They had found out last year that when Jane has a cold, she becomes very clingy. While she was sick, you could always find her snuggled up next to someone (usually Catalina). Lo and behold, the next week Jane was fine, but Catalina had a horrible cold. They had dubbed those few weeks ‘The Incident’.

After Jane had dressed appropriately, they headed downstairs.  
“Me and Jane are going out for a while, don’t burn the building down while we’re gone.”  
“Or do! We’re not the bosses of you!”  
Catalina smiled fondly at Jane, bopping her on the back of the head. “We are, in fact, the bosses of you, so don’t damage anything!”  
They left into the snowy streets of London.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is going to be fluff and chaos, because it’s fun to write.
> 
> There probably aren’t going to be many/any ships until the very end.


End file.
